A woke Catholic high school near San Francisco must pony up $1 million to two students who, jurors agreed, were wrongfully expelled amid accusations of wearing blackface.
According to the conservative website WND.com, on Tuesday, the jury rendered judgment for the two white male students after agreeing that administrators at St. Francis High School kicked them out without due process.
As the New York Post reported in March 2021, when the boys’ families sued St. Francis for $20 million, the school claimed the expulsion was over the “optics” of a picture posted on social media.
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The two students, identified in court records as H.H. and A.H., posed for a photo with a third student. All three, who were 14 at the time, were wearing cosmetic masks intended to fight acne.
H.H. and A.H. sought to show solidarity with their friend, who was being treated for a dreadful case of acne.
The Post noted that the medicated masks started out light green and turned dark green as the medicine kicked in. The boys took the photo in 2017, yet it came to light on social media in June 2020, shortly after George Floyd’s death.
St. Francis immediately expelled H.H. and A.H., accusing them of wearing blackface. The boys were booted without any type of hearing or given a chance to explain their story.
The Post reported that, according to the lawsuit, the principal at St. Francis told one teen’s parents that the photo and related expulsion weren’t “about intent. It’s about optics.”
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Lawyers who represented the teens told WND.com Tuesday, “The jury rightly confirmed that St. Francis High School’s procedures were unfair to our clients and that the school is not above the law.”
“The jury’s verdict finally cleared our clients’ names after four long years of repeated personal attacks from St. Francis High School. Schools are supposed to protect and nurture children, not sacrifice them when it is convenient for public relations purposes.”
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